THE BOARD’S ROLE IN CEO SELECTION Historically, incumbent CEOs anointed their successors, but that all changed in the post Sarbanes-Oxley environment that required the consideration of the entire board. Now the CEO’s job involves preparing one or two strong internal candidates—ensuring leadership continuity and the CEO’s legacy. However, selecting the rightRead more
WHY DIRECTORS SHOULD CREATE DISRUPTION How often do we hear the clarion cry, “Where was the board?” We hear this when a company experiences a scandal involving the CEO, an economic crisis, a product recall, or unethical practices. Negative headlines and regulatory actions follow, and we expect directors to clean up theRead more
When the Vietnam Conflict ended in 1973, 566 military prisoners of war returned from captivity in North Vietnam. Statistics from previous wars suggested this group would suffer Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. But they didn’t. In fact, they suffered fewer psychological problems than any other group in history every has. Why? They credited their use of humorRead more
In 1957, Leon Festinger introduced “cognitive dissonance”. Cognitive dissonance is research-based theory that posits that internal psychological consistency helps us function in the real world. Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation that involves conflicting attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors. The theory suggests that we have an inner drive to hold all our attitudes and behavior inRead more
Too often discussions of attitudes, values, and beliefs center on the person, making us blind to the power of the situation. Marketers advocate finding the right psychographic for a product. Psychologists talk about finding the person who is ready to quit smoking. Human resource managers focus on getting the right people on the bus, andRead more
